Princess Discovery to cabo

The perfect time to take a trip to Cabo is when it's cold and you need to get away. I went with my mom and sister on a 5-night Princess cruise out of LA in February. When I left Utah it was snowing but I arrived and it was perfectly sunny. We stayed one night in Long Beach before we got on the ship to debark on our short but sweet vacation.This ship was on the smaller side and most of the guests were 40 and older. I will say, since it’s an older crowd, it’s quite entertaining to people watch, especially when they’re dancing. 

One thing Princess does differently than any other cruise I've been on is your stateroom/ID card. Usually, it is a card that you can swipe or tap to get into your room and it also allows you to get on and off the ship because it has your information on it. With Princess, it’s the same idea but instead of a card it is what they call a “medallion.” It is a small disk and they provide holders like a lanyard or clip and you can customize your medallion holder for an extra charge. I really enjoyed this difference. I had my medallion on a clip and it was much easier to carry around than a card in my opinion. 

The food they provided was subpar. There was nothing wrong with the dining room meals, they just didn’t excite me in any way. The buffet on the other hand was always disappointing. We did go to a specialty dinner (that cost extra) on the evening of Valentines Day. We ate at “The Catch.” Now this meal was amazing. We each ordered a different assortment of seafood; my favorite was the crab cakes. Dessert was just as good, which is a big deal breaker for me since I have such a sweet tooth. So, if food is a top priority for you, spend the extra money for their specialty restaurants and you will be satisfied. 

My favorite part about the ship was the spa. Overall their spa pricing was on the steep side, but on the first day of the cruise they are always giving out deals. If you can commit and book your spa treatment right away, it is worth it to snag a discounted treatment. I did a 90 minute massage and it was so relaxing. If you are not big into individual treatments or don’t want to spend the money, I highly highly recommend the “Enclave.” If I can remember correctly, it was $150 per person for access to the Enclave for the entirety of the cruise. The Enclave has heated stone beds, a hot tub with a variety of seating and jets, a sauna, two kinds of steam rooms, and of course complimentary lemon water. I went to the Enclave everyday. Whether it was 30 minutes or 2 hours it was so nice to take some time out of the day to relax.

The cruise went to Cabo and stayed anchored overnight for one night. I’ve never had an overnight destination on a cruise before so it was cool to experience. The first day we had a ride scheduled to take us to Todos Santos. On the way we stopped at a viewpoint to see the ocean and we could see so many whales. In Todos Santos, we mainly just walked around and shopped, but the main highlight was eating at Tequila Sunrise. The food was so great and you have to get the Cadillac Margarita. One margarita is enough though because it packs a punch. We ate dinner on the ship and we could have gone out to Cabo that night, but clubbing was not on our radar. The next day we walked from the port to a beach and hung out there for a couple hours. I don’t think you can go wrong with anything in Cabo. It is such a great destination.

Overall, the ship was a little too old fashioned for me and I wanted more entertainment than what Princess provides. Some of the best entertainment I received was on the stateroom TV, which actually had an amazing selection of movies and series to watch. I would definitely go to Cabo again and again. If the destination is what you care about, then find any cruise with Cabo. If you are the type who likes to mainly relax on vacation, Princess might be for you. On the other hand, I am the type of person who wants a little relaxing but a lot of activities and entertainment, so Princess would not be my cruise line of choice going forward.